"Goong" (2006) TV series

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Director:

In-roe Hwang

Writer:

Eun-Ah In (writer)

Release Date:

11 January 2006 (South Korea)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Cast

Bul-am Choi	...	Emperor
Ji-hun Ju	...	Lee Shin (Crown Prince)
Nam-Gil Kang	...	Chae-kyung's Dad
Hye-ja Kim	...	Queen Mother Park
Jeong-hun Kim	...	Lee Yul - Prince
Sang Jung Kim	...	Lee Soo - Yul's Father
Yeon-woo Kwon	...	Queen Mother's Court Lady Kwang
Yun-ji Lee	...	Princess Hye-myung
Ye-jin Lim	...	Chae-kyung's mom
Chan-hwan Park	...	King
Hye-jin Shim	...	Hwa Young
Ji-hyo Song	...	Min Hyo-rin
Eun-hye Yun	...	Shin Chae-kyung
Yu-seon Yun	...	Queen Min

Also Known As:

Palace (International: English title) (literal title)
Princess Hours (International: English title)

Runtime:

South Korea:60 min (24 episodes)

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Certification:

South Korea:12 (original rating) | South Korea:15 (re-rating)

Filming Locations:

Bangkok, Thailand

Company:

MBC-TV Korea

Commoner life meets royalty

Imagine a pact being sealed between the late emperor and his commoner friend years ago, being materalised in the modern times.

Adapted from a best-selling comic in Korea and "Princess Hours" as its English translation of the title, it's about the adventures and mis-adventures of a commoner-turned-crown princess. Chae-kyung, a student who takes design at an arts school, has always got her friends around her. And despite her family situation, she takes things in her stride. But it all changed when the current Crown Prince of the royal family 19-year-old Lee Shin is attending the school, leaving the school all in a buzz of excitement.

But Chae-kyung don't let that get into her head till a public confrontation with the Crown Prince happened. At the same time, rumours went around that the Crown Prince has to find a wife in order to continue the royal line.

But Lee Shin longed had a girl he liked, but she rejected his proposal. Then it was know that many years ago, Chae-kyung's late grandfather who is a friend of the late emperor (who happened to be the late grandfather of Crown Prince Lee Shin), had made a pact that their future grandchildren will fall in love and be married. It became interesting because Chae-kyung is the only female in school who dared to go against Lee Shin.

The marriage did went ahead and it even invited worldwide media attention. This is where the former Crown Princess and one-time famous actress Hwa Young and her 19-year-old son Lee Yul come into the scene given they had been staying in the UK for 14 years. Hwa Young had asked her son to return home before she did, in order to stage a comeback into the royal family where she was banished from 14 years ago after the death of her husband. Unfortunately, her son slowly took a liking for his sister-in-law. To make it more complicated, the two of them are classmates.

Along the way, there are many obstacles for the royal family (domestic problems and beyond) and even in the form of Lee Shin's former girlfriend as well. A whole new can of worms had also been opened as well on the royal family's past along the way. But, can Chae-kyung save the day, given she has a happy-go-lucky personality especially in the eyes of the Queen Mother.

The clash of commoner life meets royalty can be quite a hit in the modern era, where royal life can still be seen as a novelty sometimes.